Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Former professional motocrosser Jon Leak, 38, was killed in an ultra-light aircraft accident on August 24. Leak raced professionally from 1974 to 1980, winning multiple Ohio State Championships and earrting a national number. Leak also finished 11 th in the 1976 125cc Motocross Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio. Steel shoe maker Ken Maely will leave for Spain on September 8 to help Kenny Roberts prepare the race track in Spain that will play host to a short track featuring the likes of Jay Springsteen, Kenny Roberts Jr., and other top racers on September 13. Road racer Rodney Fee finished second in the 125cc race at the Dutch round of the European Championship, held in Zolder, Belgium, August 12. Todd Herring also had a good day at Zolder, finishing third in the Classics race riding a Matchless G-50. Excelsior-Henderson announced on August.21 that Belle Plaine, Minnesota, will be its world headquarters and the home base for the first new Americanmade heavyweight cruiser motorcycle in over 90 years. Construction of the $30 million, 170,000-square-foot corporate headquarters and ass~mbly plant is scheduled to begin this fall with completion set for 1997, according to Daniel Hanlon, co-founder of the company. Performance Engineering is now accepting resumes for the 1997 racing season. AU resumes must be received by overnber 30 for consideration. Mail resumes to Performance Engineering, 1333 Pine Ave., Suite B, Orlando, FL 32824. GFI Racing will display legendary photos of the original Elsinore Grand Prix 'events and its riders at the Elsinore Legends Barbeque on Saturday, November 9. The legends of Elsinore will be on hand and the cookout is open to everyone. GFT also is looking for photos of pa t Elsinore classics to be displayed. Mail labeled photos to GFI Racing, 22640 Goldencrest Dr., 5-103, Moreno Valley, CA 92553. Beginning on September 12, Hooters in Newport Beach, California, will host Bike Night every Thursday from 7 to 10 p.m., with the restaurant focusing on motorcycle enthusiasts. Contests will be held throughout the night and top racing teams are expected to appear periodically. For more information, call Hooters at 714/723-5800. According to Chris Agajanian, an item that ran in Cycle News announcing Agajanian's inability to gain sponsorship for the 883 class has led to just that, and the U.S. Motorcycle Nationals at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Tennessee, will feature the 883 class along with the 600s and 7SOs on September 21. RE-OPENED: Rapid Action Marketing, a full-service advertising, marketing and public relations firm that specializes in automotive, motorcycle and watercraft accounts, after being closed for six years. For more information, call 714/491-4825. NAMED: Gary Van Voorhis as Event Director at Daytona International Speedway. Van Voorhis, a director of publicity at the Speedway since 1989, will concentrate on operational matters. Elmer Tret.t. 1943·1996 M otorcycle drag tacing legend Elmer Trett was killed in a crash while making an exhibition run on his "Mountain Magic" top fueler during the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, Indiana, September 2. Trett, 53, of Demorest, Georgia, had just stormed through the traps after posting a 6.18-second, 232 mph run against rival Tony Lang when he reportedly was lifted off the bike and thrown into the guardrail, suffering fatal head injuries. Trett was regarded as the father of top fuel motorcycle racing. He had over 20 years experience at the controls and was the first to break most all of the performance barriers in the sport. He had Tecently set a new world record with a run of 6.06 seconds at 235.10 mph at the AMA/Pro tar Thunder Nationals, and was clearly set to record the first five-second run in the near fu ture. Trett is survived by his wife, Jackie, and daughters, Gina and Kelly. Funeral services are scheduled for September 7 at the Whitfield Funeral Home in Baldwin, Georgia, at 2 p.m. Condolences can be sent to the family at P.O. Box 1113, Cornelia, GA 30531. Evert.s rei H onda' Stefan Evert clinched the 250cc World Championship MX title with a win and a third-place finish in the final round at the Roggenburg track in Switzerland September 1. The 23-year-old Belgian needed to win one of Sunday's two 19-1ap raoes to guarantee his second successive 250cc crown. The RWJ Honda team rider won the first, then sat in second place for much of the second race before being relegated to third by title runner-up Marnicq Bervoets of the Johnson Bieffe Suzuki team. The second race was won by Frenchman Frederic Bolley of the JHK Kawasaki team. On the day, the overall went to Bolley with a 3-1, Everts took second with a 1-3, and Bervoets ended up third with a 3-3. Everts finished the campaign eight points ahead of Bervoets, and the 1996 title is Everts' third World success of his career. He also won the 1991 125cc title and last year's 250cc championship. "It was a tough day mentally for me on Sunday, but 1 knew I had to win the first race," Everts said. "Once that was out of the way, all I needed was a sixth place from the second race to clinch the title. "I've had confidence all year in the RWJ team, and I'm pleased for them and for Honda that I've managed to win the World Championship." However, Everts' title is provisional pending a hearing of the F1M Appeal Tribunal. The Johnson Bieffe Suzuki team, for which Bervoets rides, has lodged an appeal against the decision of the Disciplinary Court to award victory in June's British GP to Everts after he had been excluded for a fuel infringement. The hearing will be between September 10 and 15. As of now, the series final standings has Everts with 390, Bervoets with 381 and Tallon Vohland with 346. Vohland had not ridden for two weeks and needed pain-killing injections for an injury to his right foot when he crashed two laps from the end of the Belgian GP, the previous round in which he won. In Switzerland, he was strong for 20 minutes in race one before the pain-killers wore off and he dropped back to fifth. In race two he crashed out on lap one. CHANGED: ippondenso of Los Angeles Inc., will change its name to Denso Sales California Inc, effective immediately. The parent company, Nippondenso Co. Ltd., will change its name to Denso Corporation, effective October 1. CANCELED: Blood Ride '96, the American Red Cross Ride/Blood Drive, scheduled for September 29 in Malibu, California. For more information, call 310/394-3773. HlRED: Ted Boyko by the new Mission Yamaha R&D facility in Laguna Niguel, Cal!fornia. Boyko was formerly employed by Pro Tec. For more information, call 800/292-5328. OPENED: Goat Eyewear's home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following address: http://www.goateyewear.com. OPENED: Sundon Trading Inc.'s home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following address: http://www.bikelife.com. OPENED: Moose Offroad's home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following address: http://mooseoffroad.com. OPENED: Michigan Engineering Inc.'s home page on the World Wide Web. 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